Aristotle Poetics Summary and Analysis:
Aristotle’s poetics seeks to address the different kinds of poetry, the structure of a good poem and the division of a poem into its component parts. He defines poetry as a ‘medium of imitation’ that seeks ‘to represent or duplicate life through character, emotion or action. Aristotle defines poetry very broadly, including epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and even some kinds of music.
Aristotle’s Concept on Tragedy:
According to Aristotle, tragedy came from the efforts of poets to present men as ‘nobler’, or ‘better’ than they are in real life. Comedy, on the other hand, shows a ‘lower type’ of person, and reveals ‘humans to be worse than they are in average. Epic poetry, on the other hand, imitates ‘noble’ men like tragedy, but only has one type of meter – unlike tragedy, which can have several, and is narrative in form.
Aristotle’s Concept Six Elements of Tragedy:
Aristotle lays out six elements of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle and song.
Plot in Tragedy:
Plot is the ‘soul of tragedy’, because action is paramount to the significance of a drama, and all other elements are subsidiary. A plot must have a beginning, middle and end; it must also be universal in significance, have a determinate structure, and maintain a unity of theme and purpose.
Plot also must contain elements of astonishment, reversal, recognition and suffering. Reversal is an ironic twist or change by which the main action of the story comes full-circle. Recognition, meanwhile, is the change from ignorance to knowledge, usually involving people coming to understand one another’s true identities. Suffering is a destructive or painful action, which is often the result of a reversal or recognition.
All three elements coalesce to create “catharsis”, which is the engenderment of fear and pity in the audience: pity for the tragic hero’s plight, and fear that his fate might befall us.
Aristotle’s Concept of Characters in Tragedy:
when it comes to character, a poet should aim for four things. First, ‘the hero must be ‘goo’ and thus manifest moral purpose in his ;speech. Second, the hero must have propriety, or ‘manly valor’. Thirdly, the hero must be ‘true to life’. And finally, the hero must be consistent.
Difference Between Tragedy and Epic:
Tragedy and epic poetry fall into the same categories: simple, complex, ethical or pathetic. There are a few differences between tragedy and epic, however. First, an epic poem does not use song or to achieve its cathartic effect.
second, epics often cannot be presented at a single viewing, whereas tragedies are usually able to be seen in a single viewing.
Finally, the heroic measure of epic poetry is hexameter, where the tragedy often ;uses other forms of meter to achieve the rhythms of different characters’ speech.
Aristotle’s Concept of Poetic Imitation:
Aristotle also lays out the elements of successful imitation. The poet must imitate either things as they are, things as they are thought to be, or things as they ought to be. The poet must also imitate in action and language (preferably metaphors or contemporary words). Errors come when the poet imitate incorrectly and thus destroys the essence of the poem.
Comparison between Tragedy or Epic:
Aristotle also concludes by tackling the question of whether the epic or tragic form is ‘higher’. Most critics of his time argues that tragedy was for an inferior audience that required the gesture of performers, while epic poetry was for a ‘cultivated audience’. In reply, Aristotle notes that epic recitation can be marred by overdone gesticulation in the same way as a tragedy; moreover, tragedy, like poetry, can produce its effect without action – its power is in the mere reading.
Aristotle argues that tragedy is , in fact, superior to epic, because it has all the epic elements as well as spectacle and music to provide an indulgent pleasure for the audience. Tragedy, then, despite the arguments of other critics, is the higher art for Aristotle.
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